*Article updated on 13 February 2018

Kitchens across the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada are set to get messy today for the age-old tradition of Pancake Day.

Shrove Tuesday marks the last day before lent - a 40 day period of abstinence. In times past this meant it was necessary to rid the cupboards of all sugar, fats and eggs to avoid waste and temptation. Therefore Pancake Day was born.

To celebrate, here below we take a look at some of our favourite pancake-related world records.

Largest pancake

Largest pancake

The largest pancake was created in Rochdale, Manchester, UK in 1994, by the Co-Operative Union, Ltd. Measuring 15.01 m (49 ft 3 in) in diameter and 2.5 cm (1 in) thick, the pancake weighed 3 tonnes (6,614 lb), and took more than just a frying pan to flip over!

Most tosses of a pancake in one minute

The fastest flipper may well be Australian celebrity chef Brad Jolly, who holds the record for most tosses of a pancake in one minute, notching up a so far unbeatable 140 flips in 60 seconds during an event in Sydney in 2012.

Highest pancake toss

Highest pancake toss

Dominic Cuzzacrea made a monumental flip measuring 9.47 m (31 ft 1 in) at the Walden Galleria Mall in Cheektowaga, New York, USA, in November 2010.

Most people tossing pancakes

Most people tossing pancakes

The most people tossing pancakes is 890 and was achieved at an event organised by the University of Sheffield (UK), in Sheffield, UK, back in 2012.

While a total of 930 participants attended, 40 flippers had to be discounted due to either dropping their pancake or not managing to toss their pancake within the allotted time.

Largest Indian pancake spun

Dosa's are large crispy pancake made from daal which are a staple food of Southern India which are spun around when made.

The largest ever spun measured 76 cm (2 ft 5 in) in diameter and was achieved by Cao Huaijiang (China) on the set of Zheng Da Zong Yi - Guinness World Records Special in Beijing, China, on 20 June 2009.

Most pancakes thrown and caught in 1 minute - team of two

It will come as no surprise to find serial record breaker Ashrita Furman has also got in on the pancake record breaking action.

Ashrita teamed up with his regular record-breaking collaborator Bipin Larkin to throw and catch 46 pancakes in 60 seconds in New York in September 2009.

Fastest marathon flipping a pancake

Fastest marathon flipping a pancake

While flipping a pancake continuously in a frying pan, Mike Cuzzacrea (USA) completed the Casino Niagara International Marathon (Buffalo, New York, USA - Niagara Falls, Canadian side) in a time of 3 hr 2 min 27 sec on 24 October 1999.